Appeals court rules against president’s travel ban

U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear case in April

RICHMOND, VA.— U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest travel ban on travellers from six largely Muslim countries is “unconstitutionally tainted with animus toward Islam,” a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, delivering another blow to the policy.

In a 9-4 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., said it examined statements made by Trump and other administration officials, as well as the presidential proclamation imposing the ban, and concluded that it “second-guesses our nation’s dedication to religious freedom and tolerance.”

The 4th Circuit is the second federal appeals court to rule against the ban. In December, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Trump exceeded the scope of his authority with the latest ban.

The 4th Circuit court upheld a ruling by a federal judge in Maryland who issued an injunction barring enforcement of the ban against people from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen who have bona fide relationships with people in the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already agreed to hear the travel-ban case in April.

In December, the high court said the ban could be fully enforced while appeals made their way through the courts.

In its ruling, the 4th Circuit said the ban has a “much broader deleterious effect” than banning certain foreign nationals.

The ban, the court said, “denies the possibility of a complete, intact family to tens of thousands of Americans.”

“On a fundamental level, the Proclamation second-guesses our nation’s dedication to religious freedom and tolerance,” Chief Justice Roger Gregory wrote for the court in the majority opinion.

The administration has said the ban is a legitimate measure to protect national security.